When South Africa first won the rights to organize the most popular and biggest event in the world of sports, there were a lot of skepticism that South Africa can not manage to successfully organize the event. But at the end South Africa leaves a legacy after the 2010 World Cup. Miraya Journalist Emmanuel Kele has this overview.
As the Spanish are celebrating their first winning trophy of the FIFA World Cup in the land of Nelson Mandela (Madiba) and the land of the vuvuzelas, South Africa has left a legacy behind.
When South Africa first won the rights to organize the most popular and biggest event in the world of sports, there were a lot of skepticism that South Africa cannot manage to successfully organize the event.
Skepticisms over crimes, racism, poverty, or stadiums can not be ready in time in South Africa-these were the doubts implicated on South Africa. Thus, crime, or the biggest bugbear, which did have an impact in reducing foreign visitors previously, has been virtually non-existent in the land of Madiba and the vuvuzelas during this 2010 World Cup.
Thus, after this successful organization, the skeptics have to be ashamed for themselves.
South Africa made Africa to be proud by organizing such a clean and no match fixing of the tournament (with the exception of an embarrassing problem at Durban airport, where disorganization prevented hundreds of irate fans landing to see the Spain-Germany semi-final), but instead the vuvuzela became the blaring soundtrack of the 2010 World Cup.
"Every World Cup has its own history and its own culture," the President of FIFA, Sepp Blatter told the 5 live Sportsweek.
"It was a World Cup in a new continent with new culture, and if you look at the enthusiasm in South Africa and the TV audiences around the world then it was a special World Cup," Blatter said.
Although he did not attend the opening match of the World Cup due to the unfortunate death of his great granddaughter, Madiba who is 91, paid his last tribute to the large crowd in the Soccer Stadium in Johannesburg before the thrilling final match between Spain and Netherlands started.
However, Blatter said, "this World Cup had a special momentum, linked with a history of freedom and the history of one man".
By hosting such an event, South Africa has made history despite the poor performance of Nigeria, Cameroon, Algeria, and Ivory Coast as the best teams in Africa.
But with only Ghana reaching the last eight as the third African country after Cameroon and Senegal in 1990 and 2002 respectively, the Black Stars were considered as heroes by holding up the flag of Ghana and the entire African continent.
"I don't think that their performance in the World Cup is really not very, very good-I don't know what the reason might be-maybe because of lower wages among the countries they represent compared to the clubs that they played for," a Zambian Sports Journalist, Sanday Chongo told Radio Miraya in an exclusive interview.
Regardless of the poor performances of some of the African countries, the last thirty days has witnessed thrilling matches and events from 32 countries around the world being accommodated in South Africa with the whole African continent united behind it.
"The hosting of the FIFA World Cup has effectively re-branded South Africa, transforming perceptions of the country's capacity and instilling immense national pride," says President Jacob Zuma.
"The explosion of national pride and the unity that has been displayed by all South Africans is an invaluable benefit of the tournament," said Zuma.
Thus, the legacy benefits include the improvement and transport systems in South Africa and the unity of Africa.
Spain's concluding triumph in the magnificent 'calabash' of Soccer City in Johannesburg has brought the curtain down on 31 days of football: 64 games at nine venues featuring 599 players from 32 teams who between them scored 145 goals.
Thus, as the sounds of the vuvuzelas will be silent for now and could be remembered in history, all eyes are now in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup, in four years to come.
